As Dave Heeke walked in to his introductory press conference alongside UA President Ann Weaver Hart on Thursday, Arizona’s newest athletic director looked comfortable in his new role and ready to hit the ground running.
Heeke is no stranger to Arizona. Before Heeke served as the athletic director at Central Michigan University, his title for the past 11 years, Heeke spent 18 years working in the University of Oregon department.
It was at Oregon where Heeke became familiar with the Arizona program and the rest of the Pac-12 Conference. It was also there he worked under Oregon athletic director Bill Byrne, father of Arizona’s most recent athletic director Greg Byrne.